Course sub-headings

Course overview

Health is crucial to the wellbeing of individuals and society with numerous career opportunities worldwide for health and community services professionals. Businesses are also recognising the importance of the health of employees and the communities they deal with.

This combined course provides you with a thorough understanding of the social and environmental factors that cause poor health as well as those factors that create and sustain good health. Throughout this course you will examine how health is created or influenced in our society and the wide range of approaches for improving the population’s health such as community engagement, program planning and evaluation, capacity building, research, policy development and health communication. These approaches reflect professional practice and are applied to a range of settings and population groups.

You will also gain a professional business qualification through your studies in the complementary discipline of commerce. These studies incorporate aspects of business systems and processes, management, marketing, human resources, finance, economics, commercial law and business information systems, depending on the major sequence you choose to undertake in the commerce component of your degree.

Professional recognition

Graduates from the Bachelor of Public Health and Health Promotion may be eligible to become members of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) and the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA).

Note: All information regarding professional recognition is accurate at the date of publication. Enquiries regarding accreditation and professional membership should be directed to the School of Health and Social Development in order to ascertain the current status of accreditation at any future point in time beyond publication. Representations about accreditation apply only to the course, and the relevant professional body retains discretion as to who they admit as members of their association. Deakin University cannot exercise any control over membership of an external body.

Fees and charges

Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL)EFTSL is the standard annual full time load. Eight credit points is the standard full time load for one year of study.

Commonwealth supported place (CSP)
A Commonwealth supported place is one for which the university receives some government funding. As such, students enrolled in these places are required to contribute only part of the cost of their course. To be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place you must be an Australian citizen, or a New Zealand citizen or holder of a permanent visa who will be residing in Australia for the duration of your unit/s of study.

* The "indicative annual course fee" cited has been provided as a guide only. It has been calculated on the basis of a typical enrolment of a student undertaking the course in 2015, and reflects the cost involved in undertaking a full-time quota of units within the specified discipline.
The actual fees charged by Deakin University will depend upon the discipline from which each individual unit is chosen, and may vary from the indicative course fee cited, particularly if units are chosen from a number of disciplines. The cost of each unit offered in 2015 can be viewed from the Unit Search.
Please note that the fees per unit/credit point may increase annually due to rises in the cost of course delivery and service.
Deakin assumes no responsibility for persons relying on "indicative course fees" to calculate the total future cost of their course.

Career opportunities

As a graduate of this course you may find employment in either of these professional areas and work with groups such as children, adults, the disadvantaged and employees. Knowledge of business and health issues assists with executive management positions within the health industry that have policy development, budget and staff management responsibilities.

As a graduate you may qualify to work in positions such as Health Promotion Officer, Community Development Officer, Social Planning Officer, Health Educator, Women’s Health Officer, Health Policy Developer, Planning Officer, Health Researcher, Partnerships Coordinator or Program Evaluator. You will be prepared for a diverse range of employment areas including but not limited to healthy eating, physical activity, mental health, social inclusion, chronic illness (such as asthma, arthritis, heart disease) and women’s health.

The opportunities available to you will be somewhat dependent on the major sequence you choose to undertake as part of your degree.

The degree is a foundation for Honours and postgraduate study that lead to a research career in public health and/or health promotion or commerce.

Course rules

This combined course comprises 32 credit points of study. Students will undertake 16 credit points in the Bachelor of Commerce and 16 credit points in the Bachelor of Public Health and Health Promotion. Course requirements for both the Bachelor of Commerce (M300) and the Bachelor of Public Health and Health Promotion must be satisfied.

The 16 credit points studied within the Faculty of Business and Law must include the 10 Bachelor of Commerce core units: MAA103, MAE101, MAE102, MAF101, MLC101, MMM132, MSC120, MIS171, MMH299 and MMK277. In addition students must complete a prescribed Commerce major sequence and a minimum of 4 credit points at level 3 which must be Faculty of Business and Law units course grouped to a Faculty of Business and Law undergraduate degree.

The 16 credit points taken within the Faculty of Health includes three foundation health units and 13 core units in public health and health promotion.

Entry requirements - general

Deakin University offers admission to undergraduate courses through a number of Admission categories.In all categories of admission, selection is based primarily on academic merit as indicated by an applicant's previous academic record.For more information on the Admission Criteria and Selection Policy visit The Guide.

Credit for prior learning - general

The University aims to provide students with as much credit as possible for approved prior study or informal learning which exceeds the normal entrance requirements for the course and is within the constraints of the course regulations. Students are required to complete a minimum of one-third of the course at Deakin University, or four credit points, whichever is the greater. In the case of certificates, including graduate certificates, a minimum of two credit points within the course must be completed at Deakin.

How to apply

Applications for campus and Cloud (online) study for Trimester 1 must be made through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre (VTAC). For more information refer to VTAC (external site).

Applications for Trimester 2 and Trimester 3 must be made directly to the University through the Applicant Portal. For information on the application process and closing dates, see the Apply web page. Please note that closing dates may vary for individual courses.